Gurren Lagann is a mecha series about escalation as a philosophy. It starts with a boy digging a hole underground and ends with a fight fought using galaxies, and the show gets there by treating each escalation as an emotional victory rather than a power-up.

Kamina is one of anime's great characters and he is essentially an act of will. He has no abilities, no plan and considerable confidence, and the series' entire engine is his insistence that believing in someone is a form of power. The shades are the symbol of it.

The drill is the show's thesis in an object - something that moves forward by turning, cutting through anything given enough conviction. "Pierce the heavens" is a mission statement and also just what a drill does.

Studio Gainax's animation is deliberately unpolished in places and spectacular in others, and the mid-series turn is one of the boldest structural choices in the medium.

This collection covers Kamina, Simon and the drills.